The Day Everything Changed
by lionesseshuntbetterinpacks
Summary: I hope you can hear me, I remember it clearly, the day you slipped away. The day I found it won't be the same. After Katniss' father was killed in a mine explosion, she must learn how to survive and care for her younger sister, without the help of her mother. Until one day, an event changed her life forever.


**Hey guys, so I've had this idea in my mind forever, and I just now wrote it down. This is a mini story on the day and a few days after Mr. Everdeen died in the mine explosion, so Katniss should be about 11 years old, this will go up until the 74th Hunger Games' Reaping.**

"Sorry I haven't been home much kiddo, but tonight we can go out in the woods and I can show you some more archery skills and practice some more." My dad promises. It's around 6:30 am and he is already leaving home for work for his job in the mines. Whenever he leaves, worry always overflows my brain knowing how dangerous it can be in the mines, there hasn't been a mine explosion for a while, but that still doesn't ease my worry about him. Lately, he's been teaching me some of his hunting skills so I can start fetching dinner if he gets caught up at work. He gives me a hug and a kiss on top of my hair. "Love you, make sure you tell your mom and Prim I'll try to be home earlier today." He mentions.

"I will," I promise. He walks out the door down the dirt road, "I love you too Dad." I say to myself and the silence inside the small kitchen.

At around 7 I head upstairs of our tiny two bedroom and one bath home to wake my sister Prim up and my mom up. "Mom, it's time to get up." I tell her and give her shoulder a small shake.

"Okay Katniss, did you want lunch for school today?" She asks, she knows we don't have any fresh food, our food supply is running low because Dad hasn't been able to hunt lately because of work. Since I'm not old enough for the Reaping for the Games yet, we're not allowed to take extra tesserae , I turn 12 in two weeks and when I do, I'll be putting my name in the Reaping bowl five times instead of the once like a 12 year old should.

"No," I shake my head, "food supply is low, we need to make it stretch. Give my lunch to Prim." My mom nods her head and sits up about to get ready for the day.

"Oh and Dad said he was going to try and get home early." I add before I walk to mine and Prim's room.

I walk down the narrow wooden hallway to mine and Prim's room. I quietly open the wooden door, the noise the door makes shows that it's old and in poor shape. There isn't much furniture in here, just a bed and a dresser and a lamp that only works when we have electricity. Not that the dresser holds very many clothes. I sometimes wonder why a women, like my mother, born into a well off wealthy family ever chose to marry my father and move into the Seam where I'm sure she could have married anyone she wanted in the merchant side of town. "Prim, get up." I gently tell her.

She moans a little and stretches before she opens her eyes, "What time is it?" Prim asks rubbing her eyes obviously deprived from sleep.

"A little after 7." I tell her, "We need to leave for school soon." She nods her head, I leave the room so she can get dressed and ready for the day.

At about 7:30, Prim comes downstairs dressed in one of my old dresses. A bright pink one, that now is dulled and stained in dirt. "You look beautiful today Little Duck." I compliment her, she looks at my clothes, a long sleeve black t-shirt in khaki jeans with some worn out combat boots that my dad traded at the Hob for. Prim wants to compliment me, I can tell. But there isn't much to compliment me on. Unlike the fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes Prim and my Mom share, I inherited olive skin, brown hair, and grey eyes obviously from my dad's side of the family. I've never met any of my Grandparents, my paternal grandparents died before I was born and my maternal grandparents haven't spoken a word to my mother since the day she married my father and moved in with him.

"Ready for school?" I ask her. She nods her head, I can hear her stomach rumble, but she knows by now if there was enough food for breakfast, it would be on the table ready for her to eat. So she doesn't even bother to ask.

"I packed a small lunch for you Little Duck." I say nonchalantly on our way to school down the dirt road leading out of the Seam.

"Really?" Prim shrieks, her eyes light up with joy. Lunch is a rare occasion during school.

"Yep," I nod, "I packed you an apple, a slice of cheese, and a piece of bread." It's not much, but at least her stomach won't be empty. Dad said he'll take me into the woods tonight, it's almost summer so all the bushes that produce fruit should be in full bloom.

The walk to school takes about another 15 minutes. Once the road transforms from dirt to cement, you know you have entered town. The houses in the Seam are made of wood and run down, leaks in the roofs, poor insulation in the winter, and normally no running water. In town, it's complete opposite, there is running water, most of the houses are made up of bricks and look almost practically new.

As we approach the schools, I walk Prim over to the elementary school before we part ways and I walk a few hundred yards over to the middle school. "Meet me at the tree after school." I remind her, before I give her a hug and we part ways.

I cut through the grass into the yard of the middle school. A group of merchant girls are huddled in a circle laughing carrying their lunch boxes with lunch inside that their mom packed for them. Their blouses without a single wrinkle in it. Some of the girls complaining about how their parents give them too much food they need to throw some away. I scrunch my nose in disgust as I hear them complaining about 'too much food', I would love to go sleep on a full stomach. Some of the merchant boys sitting at a picnic table, most of them with their common blonde hair and blue eyes or dirty blonde hair with blue eyes. Once again with their paper lunchboxes. One of them is munching on an orange, I've only had an orange once in my life.

* * *

The first bell rings for us to go to our first period class, I have geography first period. I have no friends in this class, the only actual friend I have is Madge Undersea, Mayor Undersea's daughter. For a Mayor's daughter, she is not the least bit snobby. She keeps to herself like I do. We sit with each other at lunch because we have no one else to sit with, although we don't talk to each other too often.

I sit in the back of the room so I can avoid as many people as possible. The end of the school year is quickly approaching, which is both a good and a bad thing. The good thing is we won't have to go to school and I can spend more time in the woods with my dad the bad thing is the annual Hunger Games is quickly approaching which means the Reaping will occur soon, it'll be my first Reaping. I should only have my name in the bowl once, but since my family needs more supplies, I'll enter my name in more times so I can take out tesserae, grain and oil, for my family. "The end of the school year is quickly approaching," my teacher, Mrs. Owens starts, "final exams will also take place on the last four days of school and I advise all of you to study and do very well. After all it is 20% of your grade." Mrs. Owens is a young teacher, maybe 20. She recently became engaged to the baker's eldest son. Mrs. Owens has an strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes.

I roll my eyes at this comment, some of us don't have time to study. Besides, it doesn't matter what kind of grades you make, if you are a male from the Seam, at 18, you go off to work in the Mines, if you're a merchant's son, you'll inherit his business. And if you're female, you'll become a housewife. Unless of course you somehow manage to win the Hunger Games, you'll live a life of luxury. "Did you hear that Katniss?" Mrs. Owens snaps back at me, it's not hard to tell, she can't stand me.

I shake my head, "Maybe it's because her ears are filled with coal dust." Holly Oliver, the daughter of parents who own a jewelry store remarks. The whole class erupts with laughter besides one boy, Peter, I think his name is. I know he's a merchant's son. I think I've seen him at the bakery the times I've gone out with my father while he's trading his squirrels.

"Alright class that's enough." Mrs. Owens starts and begins writing on the chalkboard for today's lesson.

After a long 50 minutes in first period, the dismissal bell rings for second period. Girls and boys shuffle and push each other in the hallways, girls freaking out because they haven't seen their friends for a whopping 50 minutes. I get to class four minutes early, first one to class like normal. I rebraid my hair into the two braids I had making them tighter. The classroom slowly becomes more crowded as the time comes closer for the tardy bell to ring.

It's math class, I'm in standard math. I don't want to be here, I'm pretty sure anyone who takes standard math or standard classes in general, doesn't want to be there. I pretty much tune everything out the teacher says, to be honest, I don't think I've spoken more than ten sentences this whole year in the class.

The classes drag on, I can hear my stomach rumble, but I remember I don't have lunch, I gave it to Prim. But hopefully there will be some dinner tonight maybe even some strawberries from the meadow.

At lunch, I take my normal seat, on the edge of the 'popular' kids. Madge takes her seat across from me, her attention focused on a book. "Hey Peeta," another boy, older than the boy comes up to him, "Mom said to be home early, you need to take up my shift." Without another word, the older boy walks away with his group of friends.

After lunch, I have an art class. I'm not exactly sure how I got stuck in here, but I'm assuming this is the only class there was enough room for me and didn't cost any money. We're making coffee mugs for our dad's for fathers day coming up soon. I sit at a table of four, containing one other girl and two boys, both from a merchant's family. They're always gossiping about someone new everyday. I never dared repeated anything they ever said, knowing some how it'll backfire on me as well. I envy everyone from the merchant side of town, a nice warm meal, running water, installation during winter time.

Suddenly a gong goes off, one I haven't heard in a very long time. It sounds like the gong they use in the Hunger Games signalling the Games have begun. Everyone looks around in confusion. Although none of us have heard the gong go off in a long time, everyone knows there was an accident in the mines... or more than likely an explosion has gone off..

There are many gasps throughout the room. Most of the class has nothing to worry about, their dads don't work in the mines, they own a wealthy business in town. I want to cry, break down in tears, but I can't cry. I can't let the other kids in my class think I'm weak. Because if they see me break down, then my whole sixth grade class will always hold that against me.

"Ok...okay class," Ms. Garret stutters, clearly she wasn't prepared for this, "lets get you outside the school. Line up single file.

The class gets up off their chairs and lines up like we're in kindergarten all over again. One boy, the boy who I say at lunch, who's brother clearified his name to be 'Peeta', sends me a sympathetic look, I shake it off and put my brave Everdeen face on. Once we've excited school property, we all as a town head to the mines, I wait for Prim by the tree where we always meet. Where we would always meet in case of an emergency like this.

Crowds of people are already there, mainly wives who have husbands working in the mines. I see my mother among the women already standing there waiting for their loved ones to reappear from underground. I turn and face Prim and get down on my knees, she's only just turned eight, April 2, "It's okay Prim, sometimes these are just false alarms. Peacekeepers are down there working to get all the workers up. It'll be okay Little Duck." I wipe away the tears from her cheeks, she smiles, trying to be convinced, but like me, she has a knot in her stomach that tells her otherwise. I take her hand and we walk off to our mom.

"Mom," I yell from a close distance, she turns around at my voice. "Has Dad come up yet?" I can feel tears threatening in the corners of my eyes, but I'm fighting them away.

I can see the hope, worry, and emptiness all mixed into one emotion in her eyes, "Not yet." She whispers, none of the miners have come up yet. Prim, my mom and I stay huddled in each others arms. It's about 30 minutes before a peacekeeper comes to talk to the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. But I guess it's mostly ladies," the peacekeeper tries to make us laugh. He failed. "I understand there are a lot of you worried to death about your loved ones, out of the 307 men working down there, we are sad to pronounce four dead and about another 100 injured, the men are going to come up now. Over by the other peacekeepers will be a list of all the identified dead people. We're not sure what caused this explosion, we think maybe a gas leaked, but there is almost no way to tell. Although, the recent update on safety precautions and procedures made sure the minimum amount of men died.

Men after men come out from the elevator, their arms filled immediately with their wife and kids "Mom, do you think Dad is among the five that died?" Prim asks, her voice cracking from all her crying.

"Of course not honey, only four died, and I'm sure your father is safe, he probably just made sure everyone made it up before him. The odds are in our favor." My mother reassures Prim. But me, not so much. After hours pass, the last few are arriving out of the elevator. The knot in my stomach grows deeper and deeper, getting a feeling he's never coming back. Never ever.

The three other families await their husbands to come out of the elevator, them thinking the same as us, out of four miners died, they thought for sure it wasn't their loved one. One family had a very heavily pregnant wife, one had three older kids and one younger, another family had two old sons, maybe about 14, 8, and the other no older than 3 and the wife heavily pregnant probably about to deliver any day now, and then us. All of us had lost our loved ones, our dad, our husband.

Another peacekeeper walks in front of us, "I'm so sorry for your losses," he bows down his head, "There will be a memorial for your loved one outside the Justice Building in three or so days. Meanwhile, lets say a prayer to God," we all bow our heads and take each other's hands, "Heavenly Father we come to you today after a deadly mine explosion, we thank you for keeping the death rate to a minimum. We pray that the miners who were injured to be healed properly and safely. While finally, we pray for the families that lost their loved one, for the wives now single parents raising a family, for children who will never see their father again, for the unborn children, never going to meet your father. We pray you will help them through this hardship and only make them stronger. In your name we pray. Amen."

"Amen." We all repeat.

"Again, I'm terribly sorry for all of your losses, you'll be able to pick up a weeks worth of supplies during the memorial service. God Bless." The peacekeeper says then leaves all of us alone.

It takes a few minutes to hit me that Dad will never be coming home again, ever again. I drop to my knees, "HE'S DEAD!" I scream, "HE'S DEAD. HE'S REALLY DEAD." I can't help but to let the tears fall freely from my eyes, "HE'S NEVER COMING HOME." My voice cracks. "WHY? WHY?" I keep crying, my mom stays back in the distance, her too in shock from learning the news. She's now a single parent raising two daughters. I'm crying uncontrollably now. I fall into the fetal position and rock back and forth. I can't even believe I'm allowing myself to cry like this, but I've lost my dad. A big piece of my heart.

I'm not sure how much longer I'm there crying before my mom convinces me to walk home. None of us say anything on the way back, we all just hold each other's hands. All of us are crying now. On our way home, we obtain many sympathetic faces. Some of them walk to us and hug us tight. Some neighbors who can spare a little more food will be by later bringing a little something to munch on.

One neighbor brought us some fresh meat, I'm not sure from what animal, but it's fresh butcher meat, something we haven't had in a while. My mom goes straight to bed, even though it's only 7:30, Prim also heads upstairs, probably to hop in bed with my mother. I stay downstairs thinking. Who's going to bring home the food, surely Mom can't do it. I can't do it, Dad hasn't even showed me how to use a bow that well, and Prim sure can't do it. I'm the only logical person who can do it.

* * *

At the memorial services for my dad and the other miners, the whole District is required to attend. The oldest child shall be on stage to accept their father's award, their paycheck, their supplies for the next week, and to pay their respects. If the miner hadn't been a father, then their loved one would take on the role.

On these occasions, normally President Snow, President of Panem, himself would visit and give us the rewards but since he has claimed a busy schedule, his secretary comes down to take his place.

The week long supplies isn't much, it's basically a warning for the women to find some type of income. But once a week passed and Mom found no job, and our food supplies became dangerously low, I knew we were in deep water.

"Mom," I confronted her one morning before school, she looks up to me with a plain look, no emotions in her eyes, "are you going to find a job?" I ask her, my voice shaking.

"No." She says quietly. "I can't. I can't function without him."

"Mom, me and Prim will be sent to an orphanage if you're proven an unfit parent! We'll all be separated, we won't be a family." I exclaim at her, but she's in her own world right now. A part of me wants to comfort her and tell her everything is going to be alright. But another part of me wants to yell and scream at her for not wanting to get a job to provide for her two daughters. But instead, I walk out of the room. Prim and I go to school like normal. But after school, instead of starting on homework or something, I head into the woods.

I constantly check behind me for any peacekeepers watching me, it's illegal to go hunting, it's considered pouching and punishable by death or becoming an avox. Like my dad taught me, always check for the 'humming' noise on the fence. If it 'hums' it's electrified and will kill you. If no 'hum' is detected, it's safe to enter. I walk into the woods, trying to remember where he kept his bow and arrows. He kept them in a fallen hollowed out log, never at home, it's to risky there.

After a few minutes frantically searching for the arrows, I found them. I've been coming in the woods with my dad for years, but this is the first time in here alone. I suddenly feel like I've forgotten where everything is, my way around here. "Calm down Katniss. Calm down." I place my hand over my heart, feeling it beating, almost like it could pop out of my chest any moment.

I walk a little deeper, but not too deep. It isn't long before I found a rabbit, I carefully aim. I aim for the body of the animal, I release the arrow, but it misses. I sigh and walk and retrieve my arrow watching the bunny hop away.

I stumble upon some turkeys, again another miss. I let out a breath. Becoming frustrated, I realize it's going to be dark soon, I turn back and head back into the district, hiding my arrows into the same log I found them in.

* * *

The next day I follow my routine, I go to school, walk Prim home and then head out into the woods. I've been doing this a week now, my grades have started to drop, but it's either school or survival. Our food supplies ran out yesterday, and now I need to catch an animal, now more than ever. I come home empty handed...again. The next day, instead of going out into the woods, I collect some small pieces of furniture and some of Prim's baby clothes to sell or trade with at the Hob. I've been to the Hob, which is an illegal trading place, several times with my father, but now since I'm all alone inside of there, it's actually a little scary. Four hours inside, and I couldn't even collect a single dollar or something to trade with. This is going to be the end.

I start to watch Prim's face become hollow from food deprivation. My stomach starts to cramp randomly from the lack of food. My last ditch effort for food is heading into town and scavenge through the garbage in hopes of finding even a little something. It's a typical spring soon to be summer day, the rain has started. I've been all through town in the pouring down rain, I'm wearing one of my dad's old jackets, not doing it's job to keep me warm. My last hope is the bakery, the bakery is the place where I probably should have gone to first. I head around back, hoping the baker's wife doesn't see me, I see several pigs, I could take a pig, sell the meat and keep some for us. The meat could last us a few weeks if it's carefully rationed. But I shake that though from my head, stealing is an awful crime, even if it means life or death, the crime is still frowned upon.

The trash cans are empty from food. "What are you doing here you Seam Rat?!" The baker's wife screeches at me, "Get out, I can't be seen with you going through my trash."

I don't say anything but use the last of my energy to run away, to take shelter under trees hundreds of feet away from the bakery. Maybe, just maybe, I'll die here. Instead of suffering any longer, I could die here. I can't return home, not empty handed. I can't handle seeing Prim's face again realizing she's missing another meal. I could ask Madge for help, but I don't want to use her. We're not really friends anyways.

I hear a commotion inside the bakery before the baker's wife and youngest son is outside, "You stupid idiot," I hear the baker's wife yell at her youngest, "no one decent will buy burnt bread. Feed it to the pigs." She demands and walks back inside, but before she does that, she hits him aside the head with a rolling pin. His next move surprises me, instead of walking over to the pig pin to feed the pigs, he walks closer to me, and throws me the two loaves of burnt bread. Did he really do that? I question is move, did he throw me the bread to lower me into a trap? No, because he wouldn't have taken that beating. I scramble over to the bread, using my last round of energy. I make eye contact with him, I see his left eye slightly swelling from the rolling pin, instead of saying 'thank you' or something, I break the eye contact and run back to my house before his mom can come back.

When I arrive home, I shake off my drenched clothes. I meet Prim's desperate face with a smile, "I got food." I tell her. I carefully cut the two loaves equally, I've managed to get Mom to eat some, she hasn't eaten much since Dad's death, not that we've had a lot of food, but she has eaten significantly less than Prim and I.

It felt amazing to go to sleep with a full stomach.

* * *

The next day at school, I want to thank the baker's son who threw me the bread, I've learned it was Peeta, from art class and a few other classes. I see him at school. I want to go up to him and hug him and thank him for the bread, but I thought against it when I saw him with his group of friends, and even a girl named Delly Cartwright, I don't want to embarrass him and make him regret his bread throw yesterday. But I did see a dandelion, the first one I've seen this year. Dandelions give hope.

After I drop Prim off at home from school and head into the woods, some new type of hope has formed in me. I grab my dad's hunting boots and lace them up. The bow and arrows is still in the same spot I've left it for a while. It isn't long before I shot down a squirrel, soon I've killed another rabbit. I don't know how I'm able to shot down animals now, maybe from the hope I've been given as stupid as that sounds, that could be a possibility.

I have a game bag that I put the game in, I try to remember the places my dad would trade at, he would trade at the Hob for supplies, we're good on supplies, we need food. I think he would go into town and trade with merchants for food. My first stop is a drug store, he offers me three full sized carrots for a rabbit. I know it isn't a good trade, but any food is good now. My next stop is the bakery, I think dad said the baker trades fairly. I walk through the door hoping the baker would be there instead of his wicked wife. The smell inside the bakery is amazing, all the pasteries smell amazing and the freshly baked bread is even better smelling. "Welcome to Mellark Bakery, how many I be your assistance today?" A young voice asks.

I look up and it's Peeta, the boy who threw me bread. Now is my chance to thank him, but I don't "Is your dad here?" I ask quietly, feeling uncomfortable inside here.

Peeta is about to answer but his dad walks in the room first, "Hello Ms. Everdeen, your dad was Greg, right?" He asks and I nod, he must remember me the few times I've came here to trade with my dad, "I'm sorry to hear what happened to him, he certainly didn't deserve that."

"No." I reply.

"How's your mother handling all of this?" He asks politely.

I want to say awful, I'm the provider for the family now. My mom is in her own little depressed world. "Good." I add a fake smile to it as well. The bakery, who says he's Mr. Mellark, doesn't seem to buy it. "I remember my dad would sometimes stop by here to trade. And we're in desperate need for food. I only have a squirrel to trade with right now, but I can maybe bring you some more soon, we just need food right now." I feel the pleading and desperation in my voice. Peeta looks nervously up to his father.

His father smiles, "Here, take this loaf of bread and a few slices of ham, and keep the squirrel." He smiles and tells Peeta to prepare or trade type thing.

"Are you sure?" I ask him in astonishment, "That's not a fair trade." I exclaim to him. He laughs it off and says it's the least he could do.

I head back home with a smile on my face, I have some of my troubles taken care of, but I know there are going to be very many up in the very near future, like my first Reaping in a few short weeks...

**Hey guys, I've had this idea for awhile but also recently saw a vine where one of the videos looked like Katniss just recieved the news her dad was dead. This fic shouldn't be very long, maybe two or three more chapters. The next chapter of 'Because of You' should be up within the next few days, my friend wanted to proofread it for me first. Anyways, please tell me what you think?**


End file.
